Thursday, January 3, 2013

Happy January 3rd! If you're in America it's 1-3-13 today. Somebody call out one of Bollywood's many numerologists to tell us what it means!

I just checked the film schedule at the theater and no new releases for me this weekend... which is just as well, I have a lot to catch up on after my holidays. Including a half-written best of 2012 list! I'm debating on whether I want to post it before or after Asim posts the uPodcast episode I recorded on the Best of 2012. I don't want to ruin the suspense... hmmm...

Nargis Fakhri: When Rockstar was in production Ranbir Kapoor had raved to me, “Forget the popular awards for Best Debutant, Nargis will win all the Best Actress awards.” When the film released the pretty-pouted Pakistani-Czech actress proved to be an acting dud. Not one project came her way thereafter, Khiladi 786 was snatched away with the feeble explanation that she didn’t look like Mithun Chakaborty’s sister. As if Asin who replaced her did! Hee hee. All through the year Nargis was known for being seen in public places with eligible heroes, first with Ranbir, then Shahid Kapoor then Uday Chopra. We hear Ranbir decided to stay away from all things Nargis when he realized where the stories of their linkup were coming from.

Jimmy Shergill skips the premiere of his Rajdhani Express out of solidarity for the Delhi woman who died after being violently assaulted by a group of men.

Just as an aside, I feel odd calling her the "gang-rape victim." It doesn't seem strong enough a phrase somehow. It was a gender-driven hate crime and the more I read about it, the more disgusted I get. AND the more annoyed I get with the moral scolds wanting to put this on Bollywood or Honey Yo Yo Singh, as if Ekta Kapoor and other media moguls are the ones dictating everybody's moral values...

"I don't really understand how much being a part of this 100 crore club genuinely helps me as an actress. I don't have experience to still ascertain how a 100 crore success could make any difference to my career."

A source says, “While her films abroad haven’t really worked wonders for her career, she has managed to stay in the spotlight thanks to her immaculate dressing sense and her so-called exotic looks. But this film could change her fortunes.”

I guess we'll see how she does in a film where she can't coast by on "exotic looks"...

Says a crew member, "Aanandji was very clear that he wanted NO makeup at all. Sonam had her own interpretation of what 'no makeup meant'. There was much back-and-forth of opinion on this between them, since Sonam is a very fashion-conscious actress. She had never appeared without makeup on screen and to do so, she needed to build a new kind of self-confidence. To her credit, she did finally relent."

Oh, Nana… I love a good curmudgeon story. Please keep on making things difficult, sir! It's a real breath of fresh air!

And the infamous Rekha-Urmila Snickers ad… though the underlying sexism is icky (as it was in the American commercial this is based on), I can't help but enjoy Rehka and Urmila acting like GLORIOUS DIVAS! Why isn't there a two-heroine film starring Rekha and Urmila in the style of Ashok Kumar and Pran in Victoria No. 203?